As the summer starts to fade and we prepare for the beauty of autumn, our cravings naturally shift toward more comforting, heartwarming dishes. We’ve gathered a collection of autumn recipes that highlight the best of the season, offering a perfect balance of flavour and nutrition to keep you cosy and satisfied.
Salt and Chilli Snails – Inis Escargot
This dish does require last-minute deep frying, but you can prepare everything
else ahead.
Ingredients
75g cornflour
75g plain flour
2 tablespoon black pepper, cracked
2 tablespoon Chinese 5 spice
Clove of garlic crushed
1red chilli
Ground nut or sesame oil, for frying
500g snails, cleaned and cut into strips (see tips, below)
Sliced spring onion and green chilli, to serve
For the Dipping Sauce
1 red chilli, chopped
½ cucumber, diced
1 small red onion, chopped
150ml rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoon caster sugar
2 tablespoon fish sauce
Method
1. For the dipping sauce, mix ingredients in a small bowl until sugar has dissolved.
Set aside.
2. Mix the cornflour and plain flour with pepper, 5 spice and 2 tablespoons of sea
salt in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Line a tray with kitchen paper.
4. Chop red chilli and crush garlic.
5. Heat oil in a wok or deep pan, enough to shallow fry.
6. Coat snails well with the flour mix and fry in batches until crisp.
7. Drain the snails on kitchen paper and sprinkle with more salt.
8. Once all the snails have been cooked crispy, heat the pan a second time with a
little oil and fry garlic and chillis. Add the snails and toss gently.
9. Once all are cooked plate up and sprinkle with spring onion and fresh chilli.
Serve with the dipping sauce on the side.
Dummully Boxty Poached Eggs and Avocado
Ingredients
2 slices of Drummully dumpling boxty or pan boxty
2 eggs
A dash of vinegar (not too much or it will flavour the eggs)
1 Avocado (mashed)
1 tomato (finely chopped)
Chives (finely chopped)
Grated cheese – optional
Method
1. Place two slices of boxty under the grill, toaster or fry lightly on the pan.
2. Bring a large saucepan of water to a gentle simmer and add the vinegar. Break
in the 2 eggs, one at a time, when the water is bubbling and poach for 3
minutes until just cooked and holding their shape. Remove with a slotted
spoon. Pat dry with kitchen paper.
3. When the boxty is toasted top with grated cheese (Optional).
4. Then place the boxty under the grill or on the top shelf of the oven (180°C) to
grill for two minutes until cheese has melted (can be cooked in an Air Fryer).
5. Mix the mashed avocado, chopped tomato and flavour with salt and pepper.
6. Remove the boxty from the oven and top with avocado, tomato and poached
eggs and then sprinkle with chives.
Cottage Pie – Crafts of Ireland
Ingredients
Dash of oil
454g beef mince
1 carrot
1 onion
1 stick celery
1 tablespoon plain flour
Splash of red wine
2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2lb potatoes
Butter and milk
Salt/Pepper
500ml stock
Method
1. Heat a pan and add a dash of oil, chop onion, slice celery and dice carrot.
2. Put the veg on the pan, lightly fry, cover, reduce the heat and cook till soft.
3. Add the meat and brown making sure to break up any lumps.
4. Sprinkle with the flour and stir through meat and veg.
5. Add the wine and Worcestershire sauce and fry for a few minutes.
6. Pour over the stock, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 40 minutes.
7. Peel the potatoes and cut into chunks and steam or boil.
8. Drain, then mash with butter and milk and season. Preheat the oven to 180°C
9. Put the mince into an ovenproof dish and top with the mash, ruffle with a fork
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden and the gravy is bubbling
through at the edges.
11. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving.
To make Shepherds Pie use lamb mince instead of beef and for a vegetarian
version use quorn mince or beans.
Chimichurri – Herd Butchery
A South American dressing for cooked meats. Pairs well with steaks, pork chops,
roast or bba’d chicken, and even over roast potatoes and vegetables. It’s very easy
to make, and packed with summer flavours. It can be made with lovely grown
seasonal ingredients.
Ingredients
Small bunch of fresh parsley (finely chopped)
6 garlic cloves minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 medium or one large fresh red or green chilli (finely diced)
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to season
Method
1. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well together.
2. Let it rest for 1 hour before serving to allow the flavours to blend together.
3. Pour over sliced cooked meats and roasted vegetables before serving.
Can also be used as a dip.
Slow Roast Pork with Scott’s Cider
Finola’s slow roast pork is the perfect Sunday roast dish for the family cooked
with locally produced Scott’s Cider.
Ingredients
2kg Cavan Pork
200ml Scotts Cider
Marinade Ingredients
2 teaspoons paprika
3 cloves garlic
½ red onion, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon English mustard powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1 tablespoon honey
Cider Sauce Ingredients
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
300ml Scott’s Cider
Method
1. Place the marinade ingredients in the food processor and zap to a paste, Coat
pork in the marinade mixture and marinade overnight in an ovenproof dish with
a tight fitting lid, (the oven dish that you are going to use to cook the pork).
2. Next day add 200 mls cider to come up 1 way in the dish. Cover snugly with
greaseproof paper directly on the meat and then cover the dish with a
tight-fitting lid. Slow roast in a preheated oven at 140°C (fan oven) for 2 hours
for each Kg weight of pork.
3. Remove the pork from the oven dish and place on a roasting pan. Score the
fat, then finish off in a hot oven for 20-30 mins to crisp the crackling. Check with
a meat thermometer at the end of cooking time. The pork should reach 75°C
when cooked.
4. Cover with tinfoil, keep warm and leave to rest while you make the cider sauce.
5. Skim fat from the juices in the oven dish, add cider to make up to the volume of
sauce that you need, approx. 300 mls.
6. Add 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 2 tablespoons
tomato puree, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce; blend and bring to the boil.
Add a little blended flour or cornflour if you wish to thicken the sauce,
depending on your choice.
Serve with traditional mashed potato and a selection of steamed vegetables.
Baileys Cheesecake – The Keepers Arms
Ingredients for Base
120g chocolate digestive biscuits crushed
60g butter melted
Ingredients for Filling
250g soft cheese130g caster sugar
125ml natural yogurt
500ml cream
5 gelatine leaves or 1 jelly packet
30ml Baileys
Method for Base
1. Use food processor to break up biscuits or in plastic bag hit with rolling pin.
2. Melt butter, add to crumbed biscuits.
3. Transfer to tin to form base or individual glasses or rings.
4. Place in fridge to set.
Method for Filling
1. Soak gelatine in cold water, warm a little cream (20ml) in saucepan, add the
softened gelatine, stir to dissolve.
2. Whip remaining cream in separate bowl until stiff,
3. Mix together cheese, yogurt, sugar, baileys. Fold in whipped cream. Add in
cream and gelatine mixture. Mix gently to combine all ingredients. Divide
mixture into individual rings or in larger tin. Place in fridge to set up to 4 hours
Tip: when cutting for service – dip knife in hot water and clean on every silce.
Cheesecake other flavours
Use as above replacing Bailey’s cream with:
Lemon – add grated lemon rind
Raspberry – use raspberry yogurt and fresh raspberries
Tolberone – grate into mix
Mint – use crème de menthe
Neven Maguire’s Cheesecake with Raspberries and White Chocolate – MacNean House & Restaurant
In the restaurant we serve this cheesecake with a jammie dodger and sometimes
a nice quenelle of raspberry sorbet or raspberry ripple ice cream. The cheesecake
itself is really light, I like to decorate the plate with dried raspberries and baby
Malteses, both of which are available from good catering suppliers.
Serves 8
Ingredients
400g (14oz) cream cheese
Finely grated rind and juice of ½ lemon
1 vanilla pod, split in half and seeds scraped out
200g (7oz) white chocolate, broken into squares
200ml (7fl oz) cream
2 tablespoon Coole Swan
8 shortbread biscuits, finely broken up
White chocolate curls, to decorate
Dried raspberries, to decorate
Baby Maltesers to decorate
Spun sugar, to decorate
Fresh mint sprigs, to decorate
8 Jammie dodgers, to serve
For the Poached Raspberries
300ml (½ pint) red wine
2 tablespoon crème de cassis
75g (3oz) caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
½ vanilla pod, split in half and seeds scraped out
400g (140z) raspberries, plus extra to decorate
Method
1. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, Coole Swan, lemon rind and
juice and vanilla seeds for about 5 minutes, until smooth and light.
2. Melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.
Remove from the heat and set aside to cool a little. Meanwhile, place the cream
in a separate bowl and whip until stiff.
3. Fold the melted chocolate into the cream cheese mixture and then carefully
fold in the whipped cream. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a 1cm (/in)
plain nozzle and place in the fridge until needed.
4. To poach the raspberries, place the red wine and crème de cassis in a pan with
the sugar, cinnamon stick, star anise and vanilla pod and seeds and bring to the
boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, until reduced by half and
slightly thickened. Place the raspberries in a heatproof bowl and pour over the
wine mixture through a fine sieve, discarding the cinnamon stick, star anise and
vanilla pod. Stir to combine and leave to cool.
5. To assemble the cheesecake, divide the poached raspberries among martini
glasses and crumble the shortbread biscuits on top. Pipe the cheesecake
mixture right up to the rim of the glasses and decorate with raspberries, white
chocolate curls, dried raspberries, baby Maltesers, spun sugar and mint sprigs.
To serve, arrange the cheesecakes on plates with a Jammie dodger.
Cook Ahead
The poached raspberries will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. All the other
elements can be prepared 24 hours in advance and assembled just before serving.
There’s no better time to embrace the warmth and comfort of seasonal cooking. These autumn recipes not only celebrate the rich flavours of the Created in Cavan members but also provide nourishing options for every meal. Whether you’re preparing a hearty breakfast, a comforting dinner, or a sweet treat to enjoy, these dishes will bring the essence of autumn to your table. Happy cooking!
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